November 7 as Victims of Communism Day—2024
I have long advocated using May 1 for this purpose. But November 7 is a worthy alternative candidate, which I am happy to adopt if it can attract a broad consensus.
Soviet Union
Experts Wonder, Is America Truly in Decline?
The “cure” to national decline might be part of the disease.
Capitalism Makes Society Less Racist
In the Jim Crow South, businesses fought racism—because the rules denied them customers.
Remembering Lenin—the First Great Communist Mass Murderer
On the 100th anniversary of his death, it's worth recalling that almost all the worst features of communist totalitarianism began under Lenin, not Stalin and other successors.
Genre-Bending Anime Spy x Family Tackles Cold War Espionage
State power and oppressive surveillance serve as the backdrop for this animated spy comedy.
November 7 as Victims of Communism Day—2023
I have long advocated using May 1 for this purpose. But November 7 is a worthy alternative candidate, which I am happy to adopt if it can attract a broad consensus.
Chicago: From Stacker of Wheat to Stacker of Wheat Thins!
Mayor Brandon Johnson should remember the sorry history of state-run supermarkets.
Review: How Tetris Escaped the Iron Curtain
The Apple TV+ film tells the story of an entrepreneur who helped bring a Soviet designer's game to the world.
'It's Like Stockholm Syndrome': Gloria Álvarez Is Trying To Save Latin America From Socialism
"If there is freedom, private property, rule of law, then Latin Americans thrive," says the social media star.
Blame America's Air Traffic Control System for Your Flight Delay
In countries that privatized, there are fewer delays and costs are lower. But labor unions and the private plane lobby stand in the way.
Lockdowns Had Little Impact on COVID-19
Data show Florida and New York had similar death numbers despite vastly different approaches.
It Wasn't What He Wanted, But Gorbachev Allowed an Evil Empire To Collapse
Alas, the Russians never forgave him.
How Stalin Toyed With Mikhail Bulgakov
The author of The Master and Margarita faced a bewildering mixture of rewards and censorship.
Biden Shouldn't Meet Xi Jinping in China. He Should Do It in America.
The U.S. may not realize it, but it has the upper hand. It turns out communism doesn't work.
Bolton's 'Coup' Boast Undermines Election Interference Complaints
Objections to foreign election meddling lose credibility when you overthrow governments.
Ukraine Can't Defend Its Freedom With an Army of Conscripts
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has barred men aged 18-60 from leaving the country.
Will Ruger: How Libertarians Should Think About Ukraine Invasion
The United States needs to be realistic about its interests abroad and the limits of our ability to influence events militarily, says the former nominee to be ambassador to Afghanistan.
Should NATO Open Its Doors to Georgia?
Conflict with Russia has been an ever-present threat in the three decades since Georgia broke away from the collapsing Soviet Union.
Turkmenistan's Record-Setting Repression
The most oppressive of the former Soviet countries is run by a dictator with a strange cult of personality.
That Time Mikhail Gorbachev Appeared in a Pizza Hut Commercial
There may not be a more striking metaphor for capitalism's victory over the Soviet Union than a 60-second Pizza Hut ad that originally aired more than 20 years ago.
The Baltic Way
How Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania ended up with relatively high degrees of economic freedom and political stability
Meet the New Boss in Azerbaijan
A look at Azerbaijan’s rampant corruption, unfair elections, and flimsy institutions
Lost in Transition
30 years after the Soviet collapse, what happened to the Russian dream of a free economy?
The Sick Man of Central Asia
Tajikistan remains economically underdeveloped despite plentiful natural resources.
The Pope Who Helped Bring Down Communism
"I have no doubt," Polish President Lech Wałęsa once said, that without John Paul II "the birth of Solidarity would not have been possible."
Eugene Huskey on the Soviet Legacy in Central Asia
"This is the nature of an authoritarian regime. You don't quite know where the boundaries of acceptable discourse are. Everything is uncertain."
A Glimmer of Success in Miserable Moldova
Maia Sandu, Moldova's new president, has cleverly positioned her new government as being in thrall neither to Moscow nor to Brussels.
Leaving Uzbekistan
Why is it so hard for Uzbek citizens to get permission to travel abroad?
Ukraine Still Hungers for Independence
For two years in the 1930s, the people of Ukraine were forced to starve in service of a political idea.
Communism Destroyed Russian Cooking
Soviet rule promised abundance. Instead it brought misery and starvation.
The Anarchic Interlude
In 1990s Prague, wonderful things happened in the chaotic space between the end of communism and the rise of its replacement.
Watching Mikhail Gorbachev Resign in Moscow
The day the Soviet flag was lowered for the last time
Kazakhstan Kleptocracy
Authoritarianism and abundant natural resources make a treacherous combination in Kazakhstan.
Soviet Ethnic Policies Split Kyrgyzstan
Conflict between minority groups still lingers today
Garry Kasparov's Gambit
The greatest chess player in modern history on how the Soviet Union lost to the free world.
The Best of Cold War Culture
Books, films, and more related to the dissolution of the Soviet Union
What Happened to the Former Soviet Republics?
Exploring the long-tail consequences of the evil empire in its many forms
Remittances Bolster—and Limit—Armenia's Potential
Remitting took off during the Soviet period and has remained high over the years due to lack of domestic economic opportunity.
Garry Kasparov: Greatest Soviet Chess Champion on the Awful System That Created Him
The grandmaster and human rights activist talks about the lessons the world—especially American democratic socialists—must remember three decades after communism's collapse.
The Uses and Disadvantages of Soviet History for Life
It is hard to comprehend the scarcity and existential dread that was humanity's constant companion during the Cold War.
Garry Kasparov: From Communism's Last Chess Champion to Freedom Fighter
30 years after the collapse of the Soviet Union, its greatest—and last—chess champion reflects on the awful system that produced him.
Once a Communist Backwater, Georgia Discovered the Benefits of Free Markets. Now It Risks Abandoning Them.
"Government should be very small. It should just regulate the minimum."
The Queen's Gambit
The protagonist's speedy evolution into an anti–Cold Warrior is the better subplot.
The Media's Role in Concealing Stalin's Evils Exposed in Mr. Jones
Walter Duranty and The New York Times have blood on their hands in this historical re-enactment.
Without the Soviet Union, NATO Seems Increasingly Irrelevant
No number of NATO summits will re-energize an alliance against an enemy that went out of business nearly 30 years ago.
